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Mechanical Bull (album)

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Mechanical Bull
A sign reading the words "Mechanical Bull".
Studio album by
Kings of Leon
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2013
Recorded2013
StudioThe Neon Leon (Nashville)
Genre
Length42:01
LabelRCA
ProducerAngelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology
Come Around Sundown
(2010) 		Mechanical Bull
(2013) 		WALLS
(2016)
Alternative cover art
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Mechanical Bull
  1. "Supersoaker"
    Released: July 17, 2013
  2. "Wait for Me"
    Released: August 6, 2013
  3. "Temple"
    Released: October 14, 2013
  4. "Beautiful War"
    Released: December 9, 2013
  5. "Don't Matter"
    Released: June 16, 2014
  6. "Family Tree"
    Released: June 17, 2014

Mechanical Bull is the sixth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Australia on September 20, 2013,[3] in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2013, and in North America on September 24, 2013 by RCA Records. In late 2013 the album received a nomination at the 56th Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.4/10[4]
Metacritic70/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB−[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB [8]
The Guardian[9]
The Independent[10]
NME6/10[11]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin8/10[14]
Uncut9/10[15]

Mechanical Bull received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the album has a weighted averagescore of 70 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, based on 110,000 copies sold in its first week.[16] It has sold 347,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[17] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart, selling 71,000 copies in the first week.[18] The album has sold 323,240 copies in the UK as of October 2016.[19] Mechanical Bull is the first Kings of Leon album that sold more copies in the United States than in the UK.

Promotion

[edit]

The first single to promote the album, "Supersoaker", was released on July 17, 2013. This single was followed by the release of the second single titled "Wait for Me" on August 6, 2013.[20] During the Heineken Open'er Festival 2013, Kings of Leon performed "Don't Matter", another song from this album.[21] The third single "Temple" impacted US active rock and adult album alternative (triple A) radio on October 14, 2013[22][23] and modern rock radio on October 15, 2013.[24] The band released the Official Video for "Beautiful War" on November 22, 2013. The song has been described by the Guardian as "a slow-grower about love and fighting," and a "distant cousin of U2's With or Without You".[25] "Beautiful War" and "Don't Matter" were released as singles exclusively in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013 and June 16, 2014 respectively.[26][27] "Family Tree" was sent to US modern rock radio as the album's sixth overall single on June 17, 2014.[28] An adult album alternative release followed on July 1, 2014.[29]

To promote the album, on September 24, 2013, the band appeared on Good Morning America and performed "Supersoaker". They have also performed "Temple" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.

Singles

[edit]

"Supersoaker" reached to number 2 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 9 on the US Alternative chart. The song also peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart.

"Wait for Me" reached to number 14 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart and number 10 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart. Five days after being released in the UK, it debut at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Temple" peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill and Matthew Followill

No.TitleLength
1."Supersoaker"3:50
2."Rock City"2:56
3."Don't Matter"2:50
4."Beautiful War"5:09
5."Temple"4:10
6."Wait for Me"3:30
7."Family Tree"3:50
8."Comeback Story"3:59
9."Tonight"4:33
10."Coming Back Again"3:28
11."On the Chin"3:46
Total length:42:00
Deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
12."Work On Me"4:04
13."Last Mile Home"4:11
Total length:50:46
Saturn exclusive edition[30]
No.TitleLength
12."Work On Me"4:04
13."Last Mile Home"4:11
14."Molly's Chambers" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
15."Sex on Fire" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
16."On Call" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
17."Use Somebody" (Live at the O2) 

Personnel

[edit]
Kings of Leon
Technical personnel

Charts and certifications

[edit]

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Label
Australia[81] September 20, 2013 CD, digital download Sony Music Entertainment
Germany
Ireland
Sweden[82]
United Kingdom September 23, 2013 RCA Records
United States[83] September 24, 2013

References

[edit]
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  4. ^ "Mechanical Bull by Kings Of Leon reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Mechanical Bull by Kings of Leon". Metacritic. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
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